• China’s embassy in New Zealand has called Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s remarks about China’s assertiveness at the NATO summit “misguided” and “wrong”.
• Since New Zealand does a lot of business with China, it has avoided criticising Beijing directly.

China’s embassy in New Zealand reprimanded New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern for remarks she made regarding Chinese assertiveness during the NATO summit, calling them “misguided” and “wrong.”

On Wednesday in Madrid, Ardern stated that China has become more forceful and more eager to defy international conventions and standards.

“We have taken note of the relevant comments made by the New Zealand side at the NATO session, which includes some misguided accusations against China,” an embassy spokeswoman said on Thursday in a statement posted on the embassy’s website.

“It is obvious that such comment is not helpful for deepening mutual trust between the two countries,” the statement stated.

Since New Zealand does a lot of business with China, it has avoided criticising Beijing directly on many occasions.

But after China and the nearby Solomon Islands recently signed a security agreement, Tokyo has become more concerned about security and Beijing’s growing involvement in the South Pacific.

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The embassy statement also referred to Ardern’s remarks regarding efforts to destabilise and disturb the Pacific and stated that any increase in tension in the Pacific “cannot have been caused by China’s cooperation with its island partners to advance sustainable development.”

The statement said that such collaboration had nothing to do with the militarization of the region. If the South Pacific is becoming more militarized, it is clear who and what is causing these conflicts.

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